The end of WW II marks the
beginning of the end of European
imperialism
World Wars set the stage
• Militarily exhausted European powers
• taught colonial peoples how to kill whites
• destroyed aura of invincibility that surrounded European
military
• forced European powers to fall back on indigenous
administrators during periods of war
• forced to grant concessions during wartime in return for
promises of military support (often withdrawn after wars
leading to discontent)
• general program of industrialization in many colonies to aid in
war effort reduced dependency on European global network
• rise of Japan weakened European hold on Asia, in general
– Economic “miracle” – compared to Germany
– Protectionist
– Educated skilled workforce
– Higher rate of personal savings
– No large military
• Post war clause forbid military
Decolonization
• Postwar era saw total collapse of
colonial empires.
• Between 1947 and 1962, almost every
colonial territory gained independence.
• New nations of Asia and Africa deeply
influenced by Western ideas and
achievements.
Causes of Decolonization
• Modern nationalism and belief in self-
determination and racial equality spread from
intellectuals to the masses in virtually every
colonial territory after WW I.
• Decline of European prestige: Japanese
victories; destruction of Europe during WW II
• After 1945, European powers more concerned
about rebuilding  let colonies go
Decolonization
• Despite problems, decolonization did result in independence
from Asian, European, and American imperialists
• In some cases – notably India – democratic regimes were
established and achieved political success
• Although industrialization has been slow to occur,
conditions of industrialization no worse than conditions in
Europe during eighteenth and nineteenth centuries
 urban squalor, underemployment, poor health care
 difficult to overcome burdens of excessive population
• conditions of limited capitalization  dependency created
by external forces and imperialists.
Limits of Decolonization
While political independence was won, otherwise
limited changes:
• non-revolutionary, elite-to-elite transfer of power
• social hierarchies relatively undisturbed
• economic power held by indigenous elites with
little or no redistribution of wealth
• continued heavy influence of Western culture
• little disruption of Western dominance of
international trade or patterns of industrialization
• continued economic dependence on West or newly
arisen industrialized powers of Pacific rim.
Decolonization In Asia
• The three most powerful nations in Asia went
different ways after World War II.
– India gained independence, relatively peacefully,
in 1947, splitting into India and Pakistan.
– China rapidly descended into Civil War. The
Communists took over all of main land China in
1949. Only Taiwan and a few small islands
remained in control of the Nationalists.
– Japan was totally devastated and occupied by the
United States. With considerable help it eventually
grew into an economic power by the end of the
1950s
India set a positive example
• Leadership:
– dependent on Western-educated elites, particularly at the outset
– often associated with colonial administration or legal systems
– Congress Party in India grew out of regional associations of
Western-educated Indians
– later dependent on charismatic leaders capable of appealing to
masses (Gandhi, Nehru)
• Methods:
– use of non-violent means boycotts, demonstrations, strikes;
– method formalized by Gandhi.
• Methods attractive to other colonies – particularly the non-
settler colonies of Africa, where Western-educated elites
carried out similar programs to achieve independence.
Mohandas K. Gandhi
• “Democracy and violence can ill go
together. Evolution of democracy is not
possible if we are not prepared to hear the
other side.”
• “It may be long before the law of love will
be recognized in international affairs. The
machinery’s of government stand between
and hide the hearts of one people from
those of another.”
• Civil Disobedience....becomes a sacred
duty when the state has become lawless or
which is the same thing, corrupt. And a
citizen who barters with such a state
shares the corruption or lawlessness.
• Indian National Congress - 1885
• Satyagraha (Sanskrit, "truth and firmness”)
Civil Disobedience vs. Terrorism

• The individual, Thoreau claimed, is "a higher and
independent power," from which the state obtains its
power.
• Civil Disobedience  Refusal to obey civil laws
• People practicing civil disobedience break a law because
they
– 1. consider the law unjust
– 2. want to call attention to its injustice
– 3. hope to bring about its repeal or amendment.
• They are also willing to accept any penalty, such as
imprisonment, for breaking the law.
– This is what separates them from other protesters/lawbreakers or
terrorists.
Not Revolution
• Civil disobedience is a symbolic, but nevertheless real,
violation of what is considered an unjust law rather than
the rejection of a whole system of laws and government.
• Proponents of such resistance assert that legitimate
avenues of change are blocked, and they see themselves
as obligated by higher principles or ideals to break a
specific law.
• It is because civil disobedience is an acknowledged crime
that it can serve as a protest.
• By submitting to punishment, the lawbreaker hopes to set
a moral example that will provoke the majority or the
government to effect a meaningful change through
change in law and public policy.
• The major qualification is that the disobedience be
nonviolent.
Three types represented
by the person who used it
• Three notable examples of progress were achieved
through the practice of civil disobedience in the mid-20th
century.
– The first, the independence of India, was largely a
result of the Satyagraha (Sanskrit, "truth and
firmness"), programs of passive resistance by
Mohandas Gandhi to the British colonial laws.
– The second involved civil rights legislation in the United
States, in which the nonmilitant or non-violent efforts
of Martin Luther King, Jr., played a primary role.
– And the third notable, Nelson Mandela, became
President of the government he helped to adapt,
although through more violent methods.
Characterized by level of violence

• Gandhi-Passive Resistance.
– This is more effective in India because of the
numbers of people.
– Any massive action would totally disrupt
governmental activities.
• King-Non-Violent Resistance.
– Action against the law other than just marches.
• Mandela-Militaristic Resistance.
– The more violent the reaction against the
disobedience the more violent the resistance
becomes.
India
• After WW II, Great Britain granted independence
– Nonviolent resistance won
• Radical Hindus and Muslims started killing each other
– Gandhi called for a united India
– Muhammad Ali-Jinnah wanted to partition the
subcontinent and create a Muslim nation in the
North
• Great Britain partitioned hoping to save lives -1947
– India (south), Pakistan (NW) and Bangladesh
(East)
India
• A mass migration to the area of their majority
religion created violence
– 500,000 people were killed
• Gandhi was assassinated by a radical Hindu
who didn’t like his secular focus
• Kashmir remains an area of disagreement.
– Controlled by India
– Primarily Muslim
Vietnam Decolonization differs

• Most third world decolonization achieved without violence
• no tradition of peaceful colonialism as in most third world
nations  Vietnamese experience totally violent
• French rule promoted Vietnamese sense of separate identity
– Confucian tradition regarded French as barbarians
– any Vietnamese who supported French rule was regarded as a traitor
– failure of Confucian empire to resist foreigners led to complete
abandonment;
– left no cultural tradition to defend
• led to radical revolutionary means
• no strong religious basis as cultural unity
• French destroyed bourgeois political organizations.
Decolonization - Indo-China
• French Indochina (Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam)
– The French granted limited autonomy to Laos and Cambodia after
World War II.
– Negotiations with the Vietminh (Ho Chi Minh’s) government broke
down in 1946.
– War erupted which continued for eight years until the French lost the
battle of Dien Bien Phu and 10,000 soldiers.
• Vietnam
– split in two at the 17th parallel and elections were supposed to be
held. It never happened.
• SEATO (South East Asian Treaty Organization) to stem the flow of
communism.
• Malaya
– gained independence from British but asked for help to keep Chinese
communists from taking over
• Philippines
– Independence from U.S. on July 4, 1946.
• Indonesia
– Revolution broke out before the war ended, gained independence in
1948.
African Liberation
• Non-settler colonies vs. those with substantial white settler
populations.
• Although there was some resistance, particularly in the
British colonies, non-settler colonies proceeded to
independence more rapidly and without violence
– best example is Ghana  Kenyatta led nationalist movement that
utilized Indian model of non-violent resistance to achieve
independence in 1957
• white settler colonies resisted independence movements
from nationalist groups
– led to violent resistance in Kenya, Algeria; in both colonies rebellions
defeated by colonial powers, but independence granted as a result
of war weariness
• only South Africa able to retain minority, white regime.
– Apartheid (separateness)
Africa

• WW II, India and the fact that hundreds of
thousands of Africans fought for their colonial powers
• South Africa & Egypt was free before WW II
• North of the Sahara were the first to win
independence
• South of the Sahara had problems: wanted to be
free, but raped of resources
– Few were educated and professionals  unlike India where
the upper class were highly educated, there was not this
investment in human capital in colonial Africa
Africa
• Egypt
– Won independence in 1922
– Kept close ties with Great Britain
– 1950s—Gamal Nasser (general in army)
overthrew the king and established a
republic
– Nationalized industries, including the Suez
Canal
India vs. Egypt
• Similarities
– both nations typified by overwhelming population
growth that ate up much of gains
– both engaged in state stimulation of economy state
financed education, land redistribution (although
largely unsuccessful)
• Differences
– no military intervention in India, retention of civilian
rule
– India had a larger industrial and scientific sector, also
better transport and communication infrastructure
– India had larger middle class than Egypt
– India state intervention in economy less direct than in
Egypt
– India had greater access to international capitalization.
Africa
• Unity was difficult because of the way
Europe drew the colonial boundaries
– Same colony spoke different languages,
had different customs, histories and
loyalties
• Stage 1: fought and won independence
• Stage 2: BUT struggled to build strong,
stable, independent countries
Africa
• Rwanda—Ethnic Genocide
– Tutsi (15%) governed Hutu (85%) during German
and Belgium occupation
– 1962 won independence
– Hutu revolted killing thousands
– 1972 military coup  established a one-party
republic and kept peace till 1994
– 100 days of genocide left 800,000 Tutsi dead and
by the end of the next year 2 million dead
– Refugees fled to Zaire
Africa

• South Africa
– 1910, the Union of South Africa was formed from
2 British colonies and 2 Boer republics
– British and Dutch were given rights to self-govern;
Blacks were excluded from the politics
– 1923, residential segregation enforced
– 1926, blacks were banned from certain jobs
– 1931, S. Africa receives its independence
Africa
• South Africa
– Apartheid established in 1948
– 80% population is black  had 15% of the worst
land
– 1950s - Nelson Mandela leader of African National
Congress (ANC) followed the teachings of Gandhi
– 1960 Sharpeville Massacre—67 protesters were
killedcausing them to resort to guerilla warfare
• Protesting having to have a pass to go to the cities you
got through your job
– Mandela was arrested in 1964 for his part in anti-
apartheid violence and sentenced to life
Africa
• South Africa
– Pressure from black majority
and international community
Mandela was released in 1990
– 1994 abolished apartheid
– Mandela was elected president
in the first free and open
election
C/C Independence in Africa
& India
• Both areas independent after WW II
• Both tragically torn apart by ethnic and religion
– Hindu & Muslim problems were there before the
British
– Freedom in Africa allowed for an opportunity for
power struggles with long-hated tribes
• Difference  educated middle and upper class in
India and not in Africa to create a stable
government
Middle East
• End of WW I—Ottoman lands were
controlled by the League of Nations
– France controlled Syria and Lebanon
– Britain controlled Palestine, Jordan, and
Iraq
– Iran was carved up into spheres of
influence between Britain and Russia
– Turkey and Saudi Kingdom created
Decolonization Middle East
• After World War II the Middle East became a
powder keg of conflicting interests
– Flood of Jewish refugees from Europe and other
parts of the world created considerable conflict
– Britain turned mandate over to the United Nations
for arbitration
– State of Israel created out of British mandate of
Palestine in 1948.
– Conflict in that region ever since
• 1954 Egyptian seizure of Suez Channel and
nationalization of property
• 1973 Six Day War
1880 1920

2002
Middle East
• Palestine
– Many Jews had returned to the “promise
land”
– During WWI—Zionists (Jewish nationalists)
living in Britain convinced Arthur Balfour
that a Jewish homeland in Palestine was a
just cause
– Balfour Declaration stated that the Jews
had a right to a homeland BUT not to
displace any Palestinians
Middle East
• Palestine
– 1920 Britain gains as a mandate from the
League of Nations
– Jews began streaming into Palestine,
especially in the 1930s to flee Hitler
– By WW II, nearly 500,000 Jews emigrated
– 1948—UN established 2 Palestines (similar
to what was done in India and how did
that turn out?)
Middle East
• Israel—David Ben-Gurion 1st PM
• Attacked by 6 Arab countries
– Shock and awe—Israel controlled a
majority of Palestine and Jordan held
remaining parts of West Bank
– Causing the Palestinians to have no
land or home
– Jews began flocking there
Middle East
 Israel
 1967 Six Day War—gained control of the West
Bank from Jordan and the Sinai Peninsula
from Egypt
 1977 PM Begin & Egyptian President Sadat
signed the Camp David Accords—Israel pulls
out of the Sinai and Egypt recognizes their
right to exist
 Sadat was assassinated
Middle East
• PLO Palestine Liberation Organization
– Goal to reestablish a homeland
– Intifada—terrorism toward Israelis
– Militant Israelis are building on the
occupied land causing difficulty in returning
it
Middle East

• Iran
– Reza Shah Pahlavi ousted the ruling shah in 1925
• Decided the best way to beat the West was to join them
(like the Meiji)
• 1960s—instituted land and education form; increased
rights for women including the right to voteinfuriated
Islamic fundamentalist
– Shah reacted violently to the Islamic
fundamentalists and others that wanted more
democratic reform
Middle East
• Iran
– President Carter went to Iran to
congratulate them on their modernization
and westernization  fundamentalists had
enough
– 1979—Iranian Revolution ousted the shah
and installed a theocracy led by the
Ayatollah Khomeini
Middle East
• Iranian Revolution
– Modernization and westernization reversed
– Women required to wear traditional
clothing and return to traditional roles
– Qur'an became the basis of the legal
system
– 1989—death of Khomeini has led to
movements on both sides to gain support
Middle East
• Oil
– Industrial Revolution created demand
– Middle East has 2/3 of the oil
– This interest causes intervention and war
– 1960—OPEC formed
• 1970 they cut supply
• Since then they haven’t been able to control its
members
Middle East
• Kuwait 1990 was invaded by Iraq
– To bring back a traditional portion of the
country
– Increase control of world’s oil to 20%
• UN and US quick to react
• Hussein driven from Kuwait, but left in
power
Middle East
• 1980s USSR invaded Afghanistan
• “holy warriors” resisted with aid of
weapons from the West  US support
of Osama Bin Laden
• Internal problems plus guerilla warfare
caused Gorbachev to withdraw
• Taliban won after 14 years of fighting
and 2 million dead in 1996
Middle East
• Afghanistan and the Taliban
– Strict Islamic law
– Severe restrictions on women
– Safe haven for Osama bin Laden
– 2002 invaded and deposed
Latin America
• Mexico—emerged from its 1910 Revolution
with a one-party system, PRI (Partido
Revolucionario Institucional)
• Argentina—controlled by military leaders that
wanted to industrialize
– Fascist Juan Peron (wife Evita) raised salaries of
the working classes, controlled the press and
denied civil liberties
– 1982 Great Britain defeated Argentina for the
Falkland Islands
Latin America
• Central America—US businesses such as
United Fruit invested in national
economies and was resented by Central
Americans
• Nicaragua—the Sandinistas carried out
a protest against US intervention and
resulted in a socialist revolution in
1980s